Garment exporters yesterday urged the government to expedite diplomatic efforts with the USA to address the tariff issue as soon as possible to retain access to American markets.

The exporters made this appeal at a discussion on the American tariff issue and the export of garments from Bangladesh, organised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at a city hotel in Dhaka.

Anwar Hossain, an administrator of the BGMEA, chaired the discussion.

Hafizur Rahman, an administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Anisul Rahman Sinha, a former BGMEA president, and Rubana Huq, another former BGMEA president, attended the discussion.

Syed Nasim Manzur, president of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB), Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, a former BGMEA president, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and CEO of Pran-RFL Group, Zaidi Sattar, chairman of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), and Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), spoke at the discussion, according to a statement from the BGMEA.